I've got some scars of my own
by ilovegerardway4ever
Summary: I suck at summaries and this is my first story so bare with me. The leaf village has extended their kindness by sending an aid to the Sabaku household. She's suppose to help Gaara, but who is helping who? Rated M for future lemons.
1. Chapter 1

Temari's POV:

We hurried to move all of Kankuro's things into the spare room.

"Damn it!" I shouted when the end of the dresser fell onto my foot. "Kankuro, you jackass! Help me!" I called to my perverted brother. A door opened and Gaara, my youngest brother, walked out.

"Temari what is with all of the noise?!" He asked in his proper way. _'He must have taken his medicine if he's talking like that.' _I thought. "We're moving Kankuro's stuff into the spare room on the other side of mine." I huffed, finally answering.

"Why?" he asked confused.

"We have to make room for your aid." blurted Kankuro.

"Great! I was kind of waiting to tell him about that." I whispered. He shrugged and mouthed sorry.

"Aid!? Why the hell do I need an aid?!" Gaara asked his composure slipping like it usually does when he gets pissed.

"Calm down!" I said, "The leaf village's Hokage just wanted to extend her kindness by sending over someone who was in the same situation as you. They'll be here to help you out and…defend you…while we're on missions. It's just until you get your strength back."

"Fine." He responded sounding only slightly ticked off. "Did she say who she would be sending?"

"Nope I quickly lied. Gaara, knowing I wasn't telling the truth, huffed then went back to his room. Kankuro gave me a puzzled look.

"What did you lie for? (I'm a horrible liar!) You said they were sending over some medical chick."

"I didn't want him to get upset. How would you feel if you had no choice but to let a women take care of you?" I asked the remembered who I was talking to. "Um never mind, don't answer that!" I started thinking about what Tsunade had said on the phone.

**//phone call//**

_Tsunade:_ She's a very talented young lady. She was ranked first in both her ninja and medical classes. However, there is something you should be aware of. She was born into the same situation as your brother. When she was five the water bird demon inside her, provoked by cruelty, made her kill: her parents, her village, and the monsters who had provoked her. When she was ten, comrades of the people she had killed found her and ripped the demon from her. Luckily I was walking by and heard her screams. I recognized the signs from the demon removal ceremony. I was able to revive her just as Chiyo did you brother. Six years have passed since then. She is well adjusted and strong. She can help Gaara the way she helped herself.

_Temari:_ Thank you Lady Tsunade. Maybe being around someone who has gone through this is what Gaara needs.

**//end call//**

No POV:

The Sabaku household was in a frenzy for the next four days. Temari and Kankuro hurried around preparing the house for their guest. Gaara stayed in his room as always.

Temari's POV:

As I finished cleaning I heard a knock on the front door. I hurried over and opened it to find an extremely short chick with blue eyes and purple hair.

"Hello." she said in a soft voice. "I'm Miyako Himura. Is this the Sabaku residence?"

"Yes it is. Are you the aid from Konoha?" She nodded slightly. "Well then come on in." I started showing her the house, starting with the kitchen and library. "And this is the living room." I pointed at Kankuro who was fast asleep on the floor with a video game still going. "That's Kankuro."

"He's not the one I'm here to help is he?" She asked looking uneasy.

I laughed, "Nope! You're here for my youngest brother, Gaara. Ya know what? You're the same age as him." I said finally doing the math. "I'll call him down; it's almost dinner time anyway. GAARA, COME DOWN HERE!"

Miyako's POV:

"GAARA, COME DOWN HERE!" I covered my ears as Temari yelled. The weird guy on the floor twitched then rolled over, still asleep. Temari walked over and kicked him hard in the side. "Get up you lazy bum." she ordered. Slowly he got up; rubbing his side and muttered bitch under is breath.

"Do you have to yell?" interrupted an annoyed voice from the stairs. Walking down was a red-haired guy with sea foam eyes. _"He's kind of cute." _I thought then immediately cursed myself. He was obviously the one I was here to help.

"Finally." chirped Temari. "Gaara this is Miyako Himura, your um aid."

"Nice to meet you." I muttered bowing my head slightly.

"…" he almost responded. Damn he was rude, but then again I'd be rude too if I had to have someone aid me.

Three hours and one huge mess later I discovered that Temari couldn't cook. We ordered take-out while I told her that I would be willing to do the cooking from now on.

"It's a good thing you came early." Temari said later when we were relaxing in the living room. "Kankuro and I have to leave tomorrow to go on a mission." she yawned and looked at the wall clock. "Damn it's already eleven? Come on I'll show you to your room." She grabbed my arm then my bag and dragged me up the stairs to my surprisingly spacious room. _"This is perfect." _I thought, until the smell of feet caught my breath. I tried to hide my grimace but she saw it. "Sorry about the smell, this was Kankuro's room. I made him move into the extra one so you could have the one closer to Gaara. You know incase he needs help during the night."

"Don't worry its fine." I assured with a weak grin. She smiled back.

"The bathroom is right across the hall." She said pulling the door closed behind her. As soon as she left I unpacked my things and grabbed the incense I had been smart enough to bring. I took a quick shower then went to lie down to ponder my day and the people I was to live with. "This is going to be weird." I muttered as I drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Miyako's POV:

I got up early after a really weird dream about being chased by cupcakes. I pulled on my favorite purple plaid mini skirt, stripped socks, and a white tank top. The stupid skirt kept falling down so I grabbed the studded skull belt my best friend, Emi, had given me for my birthday. I hurried to the kitchen to fix breakfast and to mix up some hibiscus water. (My favorite!)

Before too long, Temari and a very sleepy Kankuro come down stairs. His eyes widened when he saw my skirt. I shoved a plate into his hands before he could do anything with them.

Ten minutes after they left Gaara came down, his hair slightly damp. I gave him a plate then turned around to start cleaning up. When he was done I washed his plate, pulled on my boots and bear jacket, and we left. Apparently he was the Kazekage here. _"Who'd have thought?"_

Gaara's POV:

I thought a shower would help me relax, but no. as soon as I got out I started feeling tense again. I went back to my room, got dressed then took my Ritalin. I wished once again that my muscles would loosen up. It didn't help when I walked into the kitchen to find that blue eyed girl in a very short skirt. She handed me a plate, thank god (or whoever) that she was a way better cook than my sister. She turned away and started to clean. I could have sworn she was blushing. When I was finished she washed my plate and we left.

Miyako's POV:

Holy shit his office was cool! But oh so boring… I spent the entire day dangling my leg out the window. Once I heard his stomach growl and quickly got a bag of chocolate chip cookies and some lo mien, which were rumored to be his favorite.

At the end of the day we went home. I fixed supper and we ate in silence, thought he seemed to enjoy it.

A week came and went the same way the first day had. Tanya, my oddly named demon, was unusually quiet. _"I wonder if Gaara's demon is this quiet."_ (Both of us had had to have our demons forced back into us in order for us to live.)

"Damn…" I muttered under my breath and looked at my phone, a cute green propel. I had been a week and already not a single call or text message from my Konoha friends. Its not like I'm super popular but I do have some friends. Just then there was a knock at the front door.

"Yes?" I said, opening the door. All of a sudden someone jumped into my arms and wrapped their legs around my waist. I looked up into the coppery eyes of my best friend, Emi Avaron. "Get offa me you rapist!" I said, my voice muffled by her chest. She climbed down then pulled my into a tight hug. "Goddess you could have put my eye out with those things!"

"OMD Miya! I've missed you this much!" she spread her arms out, allowing me to breathe. I smiled. She was strange and perverted but she was mine.

"Emi, what are you doing here?"

"I just told you. I missed you!" She made her expression stern. "You should know better than to leave me behind!" I noticed the duffle bag at her side. She followed my eyes and grinned sheepishly. "I wanna live with you."

"Emi…" I started sadly. "You know it's not up to me if you live here."

"Yeah, it's up to me!" said Kankuro from behind me. I looked back at him and registered the look he was giving her…NASTY!

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him. _"Oh shit, I know that look!" _"Would you, could you find it in your heart to let me stay here?" she batted her lashes. "I couldn't stand to be away from my Miya." Yep I knew it. That was the same way she got through all of her problems and of course it worked. Damn drama classes!

"S-sh-sure." he stuttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on you'll share my room." I said pulling her away from Kankuro.

"Hmm, he was cute." she stage whispered. _"Ugh and the harpy strikes again!" _

Temari was cool with Emi's moving in. "Yay another girl in the house!" The look she gave Emi made me wonder if she's a lesbian.

That night Emi got the bed to herself. I don't sleep much, mostly because when I do I end up having weird ass dreams. So I sat on the windowsill and watched the stars. Emi rolled over once mumbling something about radio-active chickens. I smiled, looking down at her, still unable to believe she was here. Emi was the only real friend I had.

My phone chimed a too familiar ring tone. I looked at it to see that I had a text message from my ex…Sasuke. Yeah I know he's a total man-whore but at one time I thought I loved him. That is, until he abandoned me to go look for Orochimaru! I read over the message.

**//message//**

Mimi baby?! Please answer my calls! I luv you!! Don't do this to me T.T

I quickly deleted it. The bastard thinks he owns me?! Thinks I'll be his whore?! Hell no!

In my anger I almost fell out the window. Tanya's protective ice quickly caught me. _"Thanks."_ I ignored her silence and started wondering what was to come in the months or years that I would be here. "Oh well" I said to the moon. "What will be, will be."


	3. Chapter 3

**If any song or band is unfamiliar then youtube it.**

**Gaara's POV:**

Around five thirty I decided to take a shower, another pitiful attempt to relax. When I got out I was met with a shocking scent. Miyako was making an American style breakfast. I walked into the kitchen and sat down in my usual spot near the window. Miyako turned her head and smiled in greeting then continued with her cooking and dancing to some music, as always.

It seemed like any other morning…until I realized what she was listening to. In place of her usual upbeat rock/rave music was Slipknot. I paid closer attention. (I love that band. Its one of the few I listen to.) Yep that was definitely Slipknot. _"Why is she listening to them? And snuff of all songs." _As I pondered this, loud laughter and banging sounded from the living room.

We rushed in to see Kankuro and Emi lying in a heap. They spotted me and tried (to no avail) to hold back more laughter. Suddenly the two stopped and fidgeted looking guilty. I looked behind me to find Miyako standing with her hands on her hips, glaring questioningly at the two. They got up quickly and shuffled into the kitchen. Soon afterward Miyako served breakfast.

I noticed that Temari was nowhere to be seen. I tried to subtly look around for her. (It wasn't like her to miss a meal.) Seeming to read my mind, Miyako off handedly said "Emi, did you guys see Temari while you were out? She left really early."

"Nope." responded a very distracted Emi. More noise from the living room caught us off guard. Before any of us could move Temari walked in looking extremely happy.

"Guess what?" she twirled, "Emi is our new team member." she continued, looking at Kankuro. "Until Gaara is better you work with us." her eyes moved to Emi.

Ignoring the fact that I was being replaced and the others happy cheers, I finished eating and slipped out of the room. I grabbed my shoes and sand gourd. At first I thought I might have to go get Miyako but to my surprise she was standing by the door, her boots and jacket already on. (What the fuck? A jacket in the dessert?). "Ready?" she asked. I responded with a slight nod while wondering why I enjoyed the sound of her voice so much.

When we go to my office something seemed…off. Unfortunately Shukaku's sand wasn't as quick as it once was. When I pulled back my chair to sit a loud bang sounded. Before either of us could react, a trap door on the ceiling opened and something fell down quickly towards me. I closed my eyes expecting the worst, after all there wasn't anyway I could move fast enough to get out from under it. I heard Miyako's sharp intake of breath and waited.

Nothing happened. Slowly I opened my eyes and looked over at her. She was…trying to repress a laugh. I looked around me and finally the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. Emi and Kankuro's early morning adventure, their laughter when they saw me, and finally the unidentified objects which I could now see were feathers.

"Wow!" Miyako said at last. "I knew those two were up to something but never this." she let out a small giggle. "You've got feathers in your hair." I looked at the window behind us to inspect my reflection. She was right, I was covered in feathers. I tried getting them out, with no luck. I glared in frustration at my mirrored self and gave up. I turned back and sat down realizing that I would have to spend the remainder of the day with feathers in my hair.

Suddenly I felt something moving in my hair. I looked back to see Miyako busy removing what feathers I had been unable to get. Embarrassed I almost stopped her, but then I noticed how relaxing the sensation was. All too soon though, she was done. "Thanks." I muttered.

She walked to the small closet in the back of the room and grabbed a broom to clean up the feathers. "No problem" she said.

**Miyako's POV:**

My stomach clenched into a tight knot when I saw the trap door open. Regretfully I wasn't quick enough. Soon a cloud of what looked like paper bombs engulfed him. My breath caught in my throat

I held my breath until a sudden realization hit me. The "paper bombs" were feathers and they were covering Gaara. I tried to hold back my laugh. "Wow!" I managed. "I knew those two were up to something but never this!" A small giggle escaped my lips. "You've got feathers in your hair." I said and immediately felt oh so intelligent.

For a long time he tried to get them out on his own. At last with a small sigh he gave up. While he was lost in thought I made a decision. I walked up behind him and started to fish out what feathers he had been unable to get. He froze under my touch and turned slowly to look at me. I continued to pick through his hair. At last he relaxed some and turned around. His hair was so soft that I continued to run my fingers through it long after I was done. Not wanting to seem strange I quickly stopped.

As I walked over to the closet to get a broom (and to distract myself) I heard his say thanks almost to low for me to hear. I swept up the feathers and replied lamely "No problem." I returned the broom and stalked over to the window. I flopped down with my back away from him. We sat in silence the rest of the day.

When we returned home I started supper. Once Emi tried to sneak past me, thinking I was angry about their prank. I caught a hold of her arm and spun her around to face me. "It was Kankuro's idea!" she cried, her eyes closed tight. I pulled her into a tight, quick hug.

"Thanks." I muttered into her ear then let go of her. Her face was covered with shock. I smirked and continued with my task. The remainder of the night she and Kankuro gave me odd looks and even pulled me aside once to question me. But I'll never tell. That night, when he thought no one was looking, Gaara smiled at me.


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, if a term is unfamiliar, Google it.**

**Miyako's POV:**

I think the internet is addictive. I, Emi, and even Temari had laptops out, surfing the web. Temari was instant messaging random people, Emi was being all pervy and reading yaoi, and I was checking my e-mail. Which were a few spam mails, some um…odd e-mails from Emi, and some pathetic ones from Sasuke. I felt a pain in my chest. Sasuke. The guy who left me to chase after some guy with a really long tongue.

Emi looked up, confused, as I tried to control my laughter. She opened her mouth to say something but apparently her page finished loading and she was lost to the world. Which is why she didn't hear Kankuro come up behind her, didn't feel him reading over her shoulder.

"What's Kaulitzcest?" he asked then continued reading. Seconds later his face turned red, his nose started bleeding, and he fell to the floor screaming. Emi barely glanced at him then continued her reading. Temari said something unintelligible.

"Spaz!" said a voice behind me. I turned around to see Gaara, who had apparently heard the screaming. His hair was dripping and…OMD he didn't have a shirt on!

Blushing I turned back to my e-mails. Emi looked up (finally!) and saw my beet colored face. She shifted her eyes to Gaara. I'm surprised they didn't pop out of her skull! I mean she looked…shocked. I guess she didn't expect him to be muscular. My blush deepened as I remembered.

"Gaara?" By now Temari had looked up. "Why don't you have a shirt on?" she seemed to be holding back a laugh.

"All of my shirts are missing." he said in his monotone, hardly showing his annoyance. His eyes moved over all of us, stopping on Kankuro. Said boy had regained his senses enough to try and crawl away. "Has anyone seen them" Gaara asked, walking toward his brother. Kankuro crawled faster trying to get away. Too bad Gaara was faster. He caught Kankuro under his foot and started applying pressure. "Kankuro? Where are my shirts?" he asked, more emotion slipping into his voice.

"Well…if he won't talk," I said after ten minutes of this, "we could always take his shirts…" Emi started clapping. Gaara gave a thoughtful look, which I saw from the corner of my eye. To say that I was having trouble concentrating would be an understatement.

Gaara turned his attention back on Kankuro, who was…scared to death! Slowly Gaara moved his foot back and…rushed up the stairs to Kankuro's room. "No!!" Kankuro screamed, over and over again. Emi, who had climbed on top of him to hold him down, started to laugh creepily.

"It sounds like he's being raped." Gaara was standing beside us now, one of his nonexistent eyebrows twitching. I started laughing uncontrollably. My laughter increased when I noticed the matches and lighter fluid. "Now then, where are my shirts?"

"I don't know!" Kankuro insisted. Gaara moved the lighter fluid closer to the clothes. "Okay, okay! Their in the freezer!" he shrieked. Gaara moved the lighter fluid way and walked of to the kitchen. "Damn." Kankuro said. "I hate when he's off his meds."

"Meds?" questioned Emi from her place atop Kankuro.

"Yeah he's ADD."

"Oh. Miya…"

"Yeah Hun?"

"…did you know about this?" I smiled and returned to my e-mails, blocking out her wails of 'Miya-chan'. I clicked on the most resent e-mail (only like, five minutes ago!) without reading who the sender was.

Suddenly the screen was filled with a picture of Sasuke loaning on a bed without a shirt on. My breath caught in my chest. (Well he is hot!)

"'_But he left you!'" _said Tanya.

"_You never liked him to begin with plus, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" _I mentally screamed at her, knowing she was right.

"'_Around, here and there…'"_ she said calmly ignoring my tone.

"_Weirdo…" _I thought to myself while deleting the e-mail, and all of the others from him as well.

Looking around I found that Kankuro was questioning Emi on her website choices and Temari was typing rapidly. Gaara was back, with a stiff looking shirt on. Kankuro looked at him and laughed saying something about being cold. Emi shot him a warning glance then gestured to the lighter still in Gaara's hand.

"Hell yes!" Temari shouted suddenly. "Guess what!" she said (sort of) to Emi and Kankuro.

"Hardcore cyber sex?" joked Emi. Kankuro laughed and hugged her closer.

Temari wasn't shaken by the statement. "Nope! We've got our first A-class mission together!" By now she was jumping up and down.

"No way! When?" asked the pair on the floor in unison.

"In the morning!" she looked over at me sadly. "We'll be gone for six days…" I shrugged, I mean it's not like I care if their gone. (Well except for Emi.)

"'_Hmm…you'll be home alone…with Gaara.'"_ Tanya said and pulled a picture from my memory, one of Gaara shirtless. I could feel my face heat up and Emi, who must have been thinking along the same lines as Tanya, smirked at me. I narrowed my eyes and mouthed shut up while mentally scolding Tanya.

I stopped focusing on them and instead fixated on my laptop. It was a lime green Dell, high powered and completely personalized. Sasuke had given it to me…right before he left. Tanya was smart enough to not disturb my thoughts this time. I get…emotional about my emo ex. But anyways…back to the laptop. It was sleek, medium sized, with every Microsoft program available and extra storage space. Not to mention a ton of games.

Temari was rushing around, while trying to explain the mission to Emi and Kankuro. Clearly not comprehending a word of it they smiled and nodded. Emi and Kankuro were huddled up beside the couch. He was holding her close and whispering in her ear. She had herself as close as possible to him while still being able to read her yaoi. Every now and then she'd laugh, though whether it was due to what he was saying or what she was reading was unclear. They were so close, so perfect together…it made me sick!

"'_Jealous?'" _Tanya mocked.

"_Of them? Hell no."_ She laughed.

"'_I see a green eyed monster in you child.'"_

"_So its child now is it!?! What happened to sister?"_ Tanya often told me how much like a sister I was to her, but sometimes she acted like my mom.

"'_A necessary thing…'"_ She knew I needed a mother more than even. Plus there was no way I could kill her…like I did my real mom. _"'Calm yourself, young one. You need to stop living in the past. After all, those cretins who forced our hand got what they deserved!'"_

So into this conversation, was I, that I didn't hear the *PING* of my computer. "What was that?" Temari asked, a bag and gear in her hands.

"Huh? Oh it's…" I looked down, realizing I had a video chat request. "Just some junk-mail." I said distracted. The request was from Vengeful_brother_is_emo. _"Oh shit! Sasuke!"_ "And my battery is dying. I made myself walk calmly up the stairs. I turned left to my room quickly, hurrying to place the laptop on my desk. I fixed my hair then clicked accept.

"What?!" I forced my voice to sound exasperated and annoyed. The face on the screen showed no sign of noticing my tone.

"Mi-chan? Where are you?!" he sounded concerned…on the surface, below that was annoyance. He was bothered that I hadn't told him I'd left? What the fuck?!

Finally the background made itself clear. "Why the hell are you at my house?" I asked out raged.

"I…" He started but then he seemed to really look at me. His pupils enlarged and his lips parted before he swallowed the smirked. I looked down realizing that I hadn't bothered to change out of the low cut black tank to and short shorts I'd slept in. I could feel the blood rush to my face. Not just because he could see all of my cleavage but also because I'd been in those clothes all day. Everyone had seen my cleavage! He opened his mouth, interrupting my mental babble, but then my bedroom door opened.

"Temari said she needed you." said Gaara, his eyes focused on me and not the computer.

"Who is-" I ended the video chat then closed the laptop.

"What for?" I asked following him downstairs, all previous thoughts gone.

"I don't know" he shrugged. "Something about pizza and a shower…" he shrugged again, a smirk forming on his lips. _"I think this is the most I've ever heard him speak…he doesn't act all condescending like Sasuke does when you ask him a question." _I thought to myself as we walked into the living room. Just as he'd said, Temari was running around talking about pizza and oddly enough showers.

The night was chaotic. Temari, Emi, and Kankuro were rushing around getting ready, all of the full of excitement. We ordered pizza (Damn Temari!) and Gaara and I tried to stay out of their way.

Emi went to sleep fast. I watched the full-moon, ignoring the pings of my laptop and the ring of my phone. Strangely I knew that tomorrow would be a Slipknot kind of day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Gaara's POV:**

The internet is evil, mostly because it is so addictive. This isn't surprising. Consider how many websites there are: Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Youtube. Not to mention the site that everyone, myself included, is addicted to: Facebook. Its not like I have a lot of friends, just my siblings, Miyako, Emi, and that weirdo Naruto, and they don't really count. For me, Facebook is a way to keep track of the world…okay and maybe I do a little stalking. Nothing creepy, I just read peoples notes, check photos, and read back logged statuses.

I glanced at the clock on my night stand. Five a.m. I held my breath for a moment, listening. A door opened and closed quietly. Moments later the sound repeated, followed quickly by the sound of rushing water. This was what I had gotten into a habit of doing for the five months Miyako had been living here. Miyako…the girl with a past as troubled as mine. _"She doesn't sleep either."_

I looked back down at my computer. I was reading the recent events, just trying to understand what everyone was up to. A photo posting caught my eye.

**//Post//**

Naruto "Believe_it" Uzumaki commented on Sasuke Uchiha's photo.

"Sasuke, you idiot! You've got to get over her! After all it's been years."

I clicked on the photo link. I mean what girl in her right mind would date an arrogant jerk like him! The picture uploaded.

For some reason my chest hurt. I glared at the picture, which looked about a year or two old. My blood boiled with anger.

That smile, those eyes! Sasuke and Miyako dated? What the fuck?! My anger increased as I took in how they were situated. Sasuke was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. His chin was resting on her head. The looked so close and- wait. Why should I care? Besides, if I looked closer I could tell it was more than few years old.

I mentally shook myself, however the feeling in my chest refused to go away. If anything it turned into a gnawing pain. I clicked over to Miyako's profile page, then into her pictures. (God I'm such a Masochist) I scanned back as far as I could and examined her photos. (There is something everyone who uses Facebook should be aware of. You can never truly delete something. This was to my advantage…I think.) Most of the photos were of her and Emi…but the rest were of her and Sasuke. I checked the date of the last photo of the two of them. It was well over two years old. They were still standing closely but Miyako's smile didn't reach her eyes.

The next photo was of her burning a picture. The caption under it said maniacal laughter. She didn't have anymore photos posted…until a month ago. It was of her and Emi. They were in their room. Emi was lying on the bed giving the camera a…um interesting look and Miyako was sitting on the windowsill. She had earphones on and was staring down at Emi with a faint smile playing on her lips. The moonlight was shining on her, she looked…beautiful.

Laughter racked my brain. _"What's so funny?!"_

"'_You sound like a corny romance novel. The big bad Gaara, in love!'" _More laughter. _"'And you don't even know it!'"_ he broke into fresh peals of laughter.

I thought over his words. Love wasn't something I was familiar with, thought I'm not as pathetic as some of the fan fictions **[No offence] **portray me to be. (Yes I've read every fanfic written about me, even the yaoi, all of which made me want to puke!) But I wasn't sure of how it felt to be in love. _"Shukaku…"_ I began when his laughter subside.

"'_Huh?'"_

"…_love…is that why my face heats up when she looks at me and why I can't stop thinking about her?"_ Something in my tone made him pause before answering.

"'_It's also why that picture of her and Sasuke made you angry.'"_ For once he wasn't patronizing.

Around six o'clock I took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs to eat. The others had already left on their mission, leaving just me and Miyako. In my opinion it was awkward, though I don't think she noticed. She looked distracted. We left for my office and spent the day in silence. When we came home we parted ways, her to go cook and me to go stare at the ceiling.

That night we were sitting in the living room laughing at "Halloween". She seemed to be in a good mood…until her phone rang. Her face paled, she wrapped her left arm around her midsection then picked up her phone and walked into the kitchen. _"'Maybe you should go check on her.'"_ Shukaku said after ten minutes.

"_Why?"_

"'…_things don't sound so good in there.'"_ Being trapped in my body doesn't stop Shukaku form listening in on everything. (Demons can travel, mentally, at most half a mile form their hosts. However they can not affect anything around them.) Trusting Shukaku was something I'd learned to do early on so I got up and crept into the kitchen.

Miyako's back was to me, her forehead pressed against the window. Her voice was shacking. "Why can't you just understand." silence while someone responded. "No Sasuke, NO! I CAN'T love you!" … "Just stop…" she sounded exasperated and on the verge of tears. She snapped the phone shut and turned around, her eyes closed and a pained look on her face. She leaned back against the window and slowly slid to the floor. Her head was tilted upward. Silence encroached the room, only broken by strangling sounds which I quickly located the source of.

As the salt water slid down Miyako's cheeks my chest started to hurt. My instincts took over. Before I could think, I was kneeling over her asking if she was okay. She froze and opened her eyes…then flung herself into my arms. We stayed like that until my knees began to hurt.

I carried her to the couch and sat with her in my lap. Miyako's hand clutched at my shirt while her sobs quieted. Soon she became still. I glanced down at her. Her eyes were almost closed. I barely heard her say, "Please don't tell Emi" before she fell asleep.

I thought about what she had asked and everything Shukaku has said as I, shockingly, drifted to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Every writer wants to know that their work is appreciated so this will be my last posting until I get more reviews. One review from my friend Byrdie will not suffice. Do we understand each other people? I have the rest of the story and can post it at any time…all you have to do is tell me something (preferably about my story) ________________________________________________________**

**Gaara's POV:**

When I woke up something seemed off. Then I realize Miyako was no longer in my lap…and that I had actually slept. In a confused state I walked into the only lighted room, the only room with any noise at all: the kitchen. Miyako was standing on the windowsill (Damn she's short!) singing along to some CD. She seemed…better. Flashes of her crying filled my mind. But that's not why I stopped halfway to the table.

It was the birds that stopped me or more specifically the fact that Miyako was covered in birds. They were all over her; on her shoulders, her arms. There was even one perched on her head. I figured that they would fly away as I got closer, but no. Then I noticed something. All of the birds were different… As in, if they met each other in the sky there would be a fight, different. Plus they were swaying in time with the music, their eyes drooping. _"Their all hypnotized!'_

As the song ended Miyako looked up and noticed me. And the fucking birds flew away! She looked briefly at the departing avia, a slight sigh escaping her lips. "Did I run your friends off?" I asked, worried she might be upset. She looked back, smiling. _"It's like she's a completely different person."_

"'_That's because she is…'"_Shukaku said, interrupting my thought_"'…Just look at her eyes.'" _I turned back to the giggling girl in front of me. As I was about to examine her eyes she jumped out of the window! I ran over and looked out, a familiar pain forming in my chest, quickly locating her.

She was standing on thin air, or more correctly thin ice. In her hands was a baby bird. She placed it gingerly into the nest it had fallen from. Calmly she walked, ice forming under each foot, back to the window. Her eyes were easy for me to view. "How is she?" I asked.

"'Better, thanks to you.'" she said as she stalked into the kitchen. "'I have her under for now… Emotional breakdowns tend to wear her out. You could probably go back to sleep. After all it _is _only three.'" I glanced at the clock. 3:04. Hmm, you'd think I'd have noticed the lack of light outside.

"'_Well you were distracted.''_ said Shukaku, most likely to cover up the fact that he hadn't noticed either.

"'You humans have such interesting music.'" Tanya commented as I left the room. I climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway to my room.

"'_You know, if you wanted to, you could go threw her stuff. Now would be the perfect time…'"_ Resisting temptation, I opened my door and went to lie down.

After an hour I game up on trying to sleep. I glared at the ceiling. Shukaku wouldn't shut up about me needing a half naked girl in my lap to sleep. I grabbed my earphones and turned Manson on at top volume.

When my ears started ringing I ripped the damn things out. Growling, I turned to look at my bedside clock. 5:37. At that moment a faint knock sounded from my, still open, door. I moved my eyes up the pale are and into Miyako's midnight eyes. "Uh…good morning." she said seeming flustered. "I wanted to-to thank you for, well, for last night." She concluded, her face bright red. She was turning to leave when Shukaku mentioned that Miyako had just gotten out of the shower.

"Um how do you feel?" I asked to distract myself from the mental images Shukaku was trying to show me. She turned back, her head cocked to one side. Then recognition flashed on her face, which immediately paled. My own face twisted with worry as the blood drained from her face.

Tsunade, the Leaf Village's Hokage, had once warned me that people whom have had demons removed are more prone to fainting. (This she told me only after I had passed out on the stairs.) Even though she was standing on a stable area, I readied myself to catch her. Just the thought of her possibly hurting herself…a shudder passed through me.

'"_Damn you've got it bad!'"_ Shukaku chuckled.

"_Have what bad?" _"…never mind." I muttered under my breath. Miyako looked up, obviously she'd heard me. She blushed then seemed to make up her mind.

"Oh…yeah…I'm better, I guess?" Then she smiled. "Don't worry; you won't have to see me crying again." Then she left.

Confused by her comment, I grabbed my things and hopped into the shower. I was trying to decipher what Miyako had said when the screaming started.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm only updating for the few friends I have on here who have been pestering me and for Reno'sDemon. Enjoy you guys. Remember to review!**

**Miyako's POV:**

I screamed as the pain shot up my arm. "Bastard!" I managed to spit out. He'd snuck up behind me while I was lost in thought. The needle had been hidden at his side, its contents dark and unknown to me. _"Damn it!"_

Finally my own screaming began to hurt my ears. That's when I realized my mouth was closed, my breathing not quick enough to even allow a whisper let alone a scream. _"Tanya!? What's happening to you?"_

"'_HE'S TRYING TO SILENCE ME!'"_ she screamed.

"_What! How?!"_ I opened my eyes and searched for Sasuke. He was looking off toward the living room and saying something. Tanya's screams cut of all sound. Soon the fire in my veins was too much. I shut my eyes again, waiting.

"'_THE VENOM HE INJECTED INTO YOU WAS MENT TO PARALYZE YOUR BODY AND MY MIND!'" _She finally answered.

I pried my eyes open once more in time to see Sasuke draw his sword. _"Gaara!"_ I thought, realizing whom Sasuke could have possibly been talking to. I gathered what little strength I had and dragged myself to the window. Half way down I remembered how high the back end of the house was. _"Fuck, this'll hurt."_ I thought numbly. I hit the ground hard and rolled slightly down a sand dune. Tanya's screams stopped short. _"Tanya…TANYA!" _The venom had kicked in, leaving my mind empty.

"Oh my. Miss? Are you alright?" I looked up into the kind face of the sweets shop owner form next door. Using the dregs of my strength I managed to say, "Send for the Sand's ANBU. Tell them the Kazekage is in danger."

The lady rushed of, intent to help her Kazekage and best customer. I shivered involuntarily as I sagged deeper into the chilled sand. I let the darkness consume me.

**Gaara's POV:**

I let out another sigh as the final ANBU and the doctor left. Sasuke had been carted out earlier. Another sigh escaped me as I remembered how I'd managed to stop him.

*****///FLASHBACK///*****

I rushed downstairs (after I pulled on my boxers and shorts!) to fine Sasuke standing over Miyako. By then her screaming had stopped and only her face showed the intensity of her agony. An empty needle was beside her. My temper erupted. "What the hell did you do to her?!" I yelled while clutching the sword Temari kept in the living room for protection.

Sasuke glanced at the sword in my hand. He smirked and reached for his. "I'm only taking what's mine." He said this as if it was obvious. He moved slightly closer to Miyako.

"If she was yours, you wouldn't need to do that to her." I started toward him. "After what you've put her through there's no way in hell I'll let you take her." His eyes narrowed. He raised his blade and moved toward me. Just when he would have struck we heard a sickening thump. I took advantage of his pause to attack.

As he hit the floor I looked over to where Miyako…wasn't? _"Oh god…"_ I remembered the noise and rushed over to the only place she could have gone; the window. There in a heap was Miyako.

"Sir?" I turned slowly to look at the four ANBU black opps, whom had just knocked in my front door. They paused and looked at Sasuke then at the blood pooling slowly around him. "We were told yo-"

"Send for a doctor…NOW!" I ordered cutting him off. _"If I jump will you help me out?"_

"'_Hmm why not. After all your body is my home. Wouldn't want to ruin it.'"_ With that to reassure me, I jumped out the window. True to his word, Shukaku caught me. I rushed over to Miyako and quickly checked for a pulse.

*****///END FLASHBACK///*****

I walked up the stairs trying to shake the dread off. I entered Miyako's room and checked her pulse for the hundredth time. Strong and health, if not a little quick, same as before.

The doctor had said that the venom she'd been injected with would wear off soon. He'd left shortly after arriving, wanting to pay more attention to Sasuke's wounds than to Miyako.

"You're hands are warm." I looked down and into deep blue pools. Then I realized that I still had my hand on her neck. I pulled away as my face heated up. "You seem to take more care of me that I do of you." she laughed then became serious. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me lately." She sat up slowly.

Before I could register what she was doing, Miyako hugged my. I froze.

"'_Just give in, idiot.'"_ So I took his advice. I pulled her closer enjoying her fruity smell.

"Damn it!" Shocked I looked down at her. "Sorry, you're just really warm." She nudged her face into my chest, her skin icy.

I glanced at the clock beside bed. 1:30. Amazed by how quickly time went by, I scooped Miyako up bridal style.

"…where are we going?" she asked.

"Halloween's coming on again. Plus you 'seem' cold and there's an electric heater in the living room."

"Oh. Oh um…Gaara." I looked down at her. "Why don't you have on a shirt?" Her face was flushed.

"_Shit fuck damn!"_

"'_Ya know, I don't think she really minds.'"_

"_Shut up!"_ I sat Miyako down then rushed to get a shirt. I returned and we watched the movie then spent the rest of the day watching music videos and playing hangman.


	8. Chapter 8

**Miyako's POV:**

I glared out the window, the place where just two days ago I 'fell' from. A slight shiver passed up my spine. The memories of Tanya's screams were still vivid in my mind.

Pulling myself out of those painful thoughts, I turned away from the window and focused on the sounds of the house. The clock slowly ticked and in the living room some news station rattled off meaningless information. Upstairs Gaara seemed to be pacing. _"He must be bored out of his mind."_

Gaara had been 'advised' to stay home until the others returned on the sixteenth. "Just three more days." I murmured as the rhythmic thumping above lost its beat.

"FUCK!" Gaara shouted.

Assuming he'd stumped his toe, I walked into the living room and changed the channel to a Slipknot holiday special on fuse.

"Miyako!" Gaara yelled as he ran/stumbled down the stairs. "Go get dressed. I have to show you something."

"O.k. …so you're off you meds…" I stated as I walked up to my room. His reply of "life's no fun when I take those." followed as I quietly shut the door behind me. I glanced at the thermostat on my windowsill and realized just how cold I was outside.

Dumbfounded that it could be twenty four degrees in the desert, I grabbed my favorite winter dress. It was black wool-short sleeved with a turtle neck-that came halfway down my thigh. Feeling the need to dress up, I grabbed my boots and a pair of dark grey tights.

I walked into the hallway where Gaara was waiting. He paused for a moment, taking in my outfit, before grabbing my wrist and ushering me outside.

My first thought was, _"It's beautiful!"_ Suna was covered in a blanket of snow with more falling down. Yes beautiful indeed but "Fuck its cold!"

Gaara didn't seem to hear me. He was too busy making snow demons.

I'd turned to stare at the ice sickles forming on the side of the house, when something cold and wet hit my leg. By the time I realized what was happening another snowball had slammed into my face, followed quickly by Gaara.

So…snow and dresses don't exactly mix…yeah. The force of Gaara's 'attack' sent us flying into a snow bank. Feeling uncomfortable with my dress at my navel, I tried to get up. Something, probably snow, had fallen on top of me and had pinned me down.

I attempted to call for help. Which as a waste of time. Whatever was on top of me muffled my cries.

I pulled my arms up to my chest and put all of my strength behind pushing the weight off of me. A weight that I soon realized was Gaara. He was staring wide-eyed at the darkening snow filled clouds. "This is the first time it's EVER snowed in Suna." he said mystified.

"You look like a little kid." I commented while wiping the snow out of his hair. He blushed slightly, saying something under his breath. "What?"

His blush increased. "I said you look like an ice princess with that snow in your hair." he ducked his head down seeming embarrassed. I brushed the snow out of his hair as the awkward silence set in.

"So…" I started off while I cleaned the snow of-_"Wait a second!"_ That was the third time I'd had to do that in the last five minutes.

I turned my face heavenward…and nearly smothered in snow. Looking around I realized that I was already waist deep in snow.

"We have to get inside now!" I clutched Gaara's arm and half dragged him into the house.

"Why?" he asked when we were safely inside.

"Because," I went to the window and pulled the curtains back. "It's turning into a blizzard!" Then, as if to emphasize my point, the power went out.

* * *

**\\TWO HOURS LATER\\**

There was no central heating in any house in the sand village for years. Most just had electric heaters or fire places. (Nights in the desert get pretty damn cold!) Only the latter would have been any use, after all the power was out.

Around six I grabbed my laptop and back up battery, then went into the library. Gaara was already there, lighting the only fire place. Beside him was a mountain of blankets. I sat my laptop aside and moved to help him position some of the blankets in front of the heat.

Once we were settled I flipped open my laptop and logged into MySpace, my second favorite website. I had a friend request from Kankuro, which I accepted. Felling bored; I decided to go through his pictures.

I will admit that I was half afraid of what I would find. Aside from the lingerie shots of Emi, his albums were clean. That is until I found the file titled "Kazekage fun!"

**Gaara's POV:**

I spent an hour staring at the fire. I let out an exasperated sigh and dared a glance at Miyako. Her face matched my hair and her mouth was open in a look of horror. Her eyes were locked on her computer screen.

Slowly I got up and walked over to the couch she was laying on.

Most of the blood left my face when I realized what she was looking at. _"Kankuro is so dead!"_

"Gaara?" Miyako sounded shaken. "Why is there a picture of you lying upside down on the stairs in fish net?" She finally looked over to where I had been sitting. "Where di-"

She jumped when my hand made contact with her shoulder. "Holy shit!"

"Sorry…" I muttered. "About the picture, Kankuro took that right after Shukaku was returned to me. I was kinda…out of it." I finished, embarrassed that she had seen it.

"I can tell." she laughed. Shocked I looked down at her. Still giggling she clicked the link within the photo caption. _"Oh no!"_ The link was to the 'Kazekage fan club' Kankuro had made. "There's even a fan club?" Laughing, she clicked to join.

Shocked I backed away from the couch. "Why the hell did you join that?!"

Head tilted to the side, she simply stated "Why shouldn't I?" While I tried to think of a reason, she closed her laptop and walked over to the fireplace. "It's too cold…" She looked back at me. "Why do you think bears hibernate?"

I walked over to her, amused by the childlike quality of her question. "Well… Maybe it's because their too cold to stay awake." I placed a blanket over her shoulders and sat down.

"If that's the case then maybe I should hibernate too!" she giggled.

"Are you sure you're not ADD?" I joked. Suddenly she sobered up.

"Isn't it bad for you to not take those?" she asked sounding worried.

"Nah, its no-at-choo!" I sat up startled as violent coughs/sneezes erupted from my throat.

Miyako got up and rushed out of the room. Ten minutes later she returned with a shoe box full of what looked like every bottle of medicine we had in the house. She sat down beside me and shuffled through the containers. One of her hands moved up to my forehead. "Fever" she muttered distracted, returning the hand to the bottles.

"…Miyako?" her eyes shifted towards me. "What exactly are you doing?" She grinned.

"Drugging you."

"Oh okay."

"'_Oh okay?!'"_ Shukaku butted in. _"'She said she was going to drug you and that's all you can say?!'"_

"'_Really? You, the king of sarcasm, are really questioning this?"_ He quieted at once. _"'I thought so.'"_

"Here, drink these." Miyako commanded as she shoved three medicine measuring cups of colorful liquids in my face. After I drained the bitter concoctions, she forced me don to the pallet of blankets. "You need sleep now. Our immune systems are not like everyone else's. The common cold could kill us." She grimaced. She nudged a pillow under my head and draped a cover over me. "Stay!" she ordered then left to clean the med cups.

"I can't sleep." I complained when she returned.

"Well…I could always sing you a lullaby." She smiled. "It's one Tanya sang to me when I was little." She fixed a blanket over her shoulders then cleared her throat and sang while petting my hair.

'_Hush little demon, don't you cry._

_No one cares how you feel inside…'_

Quickly her soft voice lulled me to sleep.

**By the way the 'song' is part of a poem one of my friends showed me. I wish it would snow here like it did in Suna! We got like an inch and it melted the next morning. Sad face people, sad face! Oh well, I bore ya'll… See you next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Miyako's POV:**

I awoke slowly, a light chill on my back. _"hmm…the fire must have gone out."_ Lazily I nuzzled back down into my pillow and tried to ignore the cold. I moved closer to my pillow because it was so warm.

As the seconds passed my brain decided to work. I remembered falling asleep sitting up. There shouldn't have been cold on my back or even a pillow under and beside me. Not to mention the fact that the 'pillow' smelled like fruit loops and was partially draped over me.

Suddenly, said pillow rolled over, bringing me with it. I sat up startled.

"hnn." Gaara complained at the cold my moving had caused. "Damn it, did the fire die?" he asked, his right eye cracked open to find me.

"Um…yeah for a second." I said the turned to place more wood on the already roaring fire. Not seeming to notice my nervous tone, Gaara stretched and yawned loudly.

"Hey, did you ever go to sleep?" he asked.

"Yeah. Do you feel any better?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Hmm? Yeah, but what exactly did you give me?"

"I'm not sure."

"What d-" a knock on the door brought him up short.

"Hey guys we're ho-o-me!" Emi sang as she waltzed into the library. "So, did you two get any…sleep? What with the power outage and all." She had a knowing gleam in her eyes.

"I guess. But I'd rather hear about you mission!" With that Emi was completely distracted. Kankuro and Temari wandered in at some point, adding details here and there. In the middle of all this the power came back on.

That night when everyone, excluding Gaara and myself, were getting ready for sleep, Emi remembered.

"Hey sweetie?" she asked innocently, sending a shiver down my spine. "Would you like to see this picture I took?" She dangled the camera in my face. I force myself to nod. She grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Alrighty then."

"Emi?! When did you take _this_?" My voice broke from the shock of seeing myself cuddling with a certain red-head. "Did you show this to anyone other than me?!" I demanded while wringing her shirt collar.

"Nope, I haven't had a chance. I was early this morning, like right after we got back." She took a deep breath as I released her shirt. She took a step back and grinned. "So how was it?"

My face heated up at the implication in her voice. "We didn't do anything!" I looked away, too embarrassed to meet her eyes.

"Wha-what? But the way you guys were laying, I just assumed." She pulled my face toward hers, forcing me to look at her. "I'm so sorry sweetie!"

Confused, I asked her why, and immediately regretted it. She pulled me to the bed and forced me to sit. She got as close as possible to me and said, "Because you nee to get laid!"

"We are NOT having this conversation!" I stood to leave.

"Does he know?" Emi asked all most too softly for me to hear. "Does he know any of it?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Miyako Himura! Does he or does he not know how you two slept?"

"…no."

She ground her teeth in frustration. "Well does he at least know how much you like him?!"

"I don-"

"No! Stop; don't even try to deny it. Not to me. Not to your sister! Miya I've seen you. Before you moved here your life was Sasuke. You replayed Snuff and Please** [a) Slipknot b) Ludo]** day in and day out. You cried and cried. You never slept, even when you had him. Miyako…do you realize that when we lived in Konoha you hardly ever smiled or ate. That's why I got you the belt." she paused and wiped a tear from her eye. "When I saw you after you'd been here for a week…the way you changed so drastically. I finally believed that maybe you'd be okay. I, I wanted to know the reason behind it. Then I saw how your eyes shined when Gaara walked in…" She burst into tears. "I'm sorry I talk so much but I just really think you should take this chance. You might not have another one." She was rocking slowly on the bed. I wrapped my arm around her.

"You babble."

"I'm sorry."

"I like when you babble." A few seconds passed by. "Fine I'll take it."

"hmm? What?"

"I'll take the chance."

**LOL fallenone667 and I have had a few conversations like this before. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Gaara's POV:**

I sat on my bed glaring back and forth between my clock and the ceiling. I sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time. There was no way I wanted to go down stairs, but I had to. Miyako had already been by twice to see if I was awake. I had rolled over each time and said I needed five more minutes. Each time she had glanced at the empty space next to me before mumbling okay and hurrying away, a faint blush on her face.

I knew she was remembering. Almost two weeks had passed since the night I'd over heard her and Emi. The conversation had given me a small glimmer of hope.

Sadly her promise of "I'll take the chance" was fading in my mind along with the hope.

I sighed yet again and climbed out of bed. I glanced at the mirror on my closet door. My hair was messy from my post shower nap and I tried futilely to flatten it. Annoyance crept into me. I grasped the can of black spray paint I kept on my dresser and crossed out my reflection. Finally satisfied I opened the closet door to fetch my clothes.

My eyes roamed over to where the plain black boxes in the very back of my closet where and smiled to myself. I changed into my Kazekage uniform while humming 'jingle bells the Manson version' under my breath. Tonight that chance was going to be taken, even if I had to be the one to take it.

**Miyako's POV:**

I felt so rushed! Christmas day and I didn't have most of the presents. On top of that I hadn't fulfilled my promise to Emi. I hadn't had a chance, either I was too busy or people were in the way.

I glanced at the clock still unable to believe Gaara never got off early, even on holidays. I shifted my eyes to the almost comatose red-head. _"At least I've got part of his gift."_ I pulled my shopping list out of the pocked on my bright green Tripp pants. Four lines were written with only Gaara's marked out.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. "Sir? We're closing the building now." the person said. **[Blah like we care who they are!]**

I glanced at my list once more while Gaara gathered his things. I already had the mixed CD for him, all I lacked was the of Poe's work. (Edgar Allen Poe is Gaara's favorite poet/writer and mine too!) So I needed to head by the book store soon.

"Hey, Gaara?" If I'm not mistaken he looked well expectant, like he knew what I was going to say. "Do you mind going home alone? I need to head to the store." Did his face fall a fraction?

"…yeah, no problem." I smiled thanks and pondered his disappointed tone. I turned back to the window, after all it was the quickest way out, and jumped down. Halfway down Tanya woke up.

"'_He knows'"_ Surprised, I landed a little less than gracefully.

"_Tanya?!"_

"'_The one and only.'"_

"_But-how-when- Hi?"_ My mind spun slightly. Ever since that day Tanya had been silent and unable to help me. I shook my head to dislodge some of the pressure. _"What do you mean 'he knows'?"_ By then I was in Barns and Nobles picking up the book so I had to control my reactions.

"'_Gaara knows that you have feelings for him.'" _She put it in such an old fashioned manor that I actually laughed and gained a few odd looks.

"_And just how does he know this?"_ She paused.

"'_He over heard you and Emi talking.'"_

"_Wait a second you JUST woke up. How the hell do you know?"_

"'_Oh I've been awake for awhile, I've just been recovering.'"_

So we spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up and gathering the other's gifts.

It was a tradition in the Sabaku house to unwrap gifts on Christmas night after supper so I only had a little time to wrap mine. And it was not easy! The four of them tried to peak! Emi and Kankuro attempted to break the door in, and then when that didn't work they asked Temari to climb in the window. I had Tanya-who was getting better by the second- to cover the window with a thick layer of ice and closed the curtains. As a last resort the two managed to get Gaara to use his sand jutsu to make an eye.

By that time, however, I'd already wrapped everyone's. I sat them under the tree in the living room and went to cook.

After supper we gathered in the living room. I had changed into my Christmas night gown and tights. (Emi had gotten it for me the year before so it was kinda short.) Emi was nowhere to be seen and so were the presents. Temari and Kankuro were staring open mouthed at the bare tree.

"What happened to-" Temari's whine was interrupted.

"Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas!" Emi bounded in wearing a costume that, I'm sure, Santa could never pull off. (Or on for that matter.)

"Emi? Did you steal and elf's skirt?" I asked.

"Nah, it was a gift from Ten-ten. Apparently she'd bought it for herself and Neji didn't approve."

"Who in their right mind wouldn't approve of that?" Kankuro wondered to himself. Emi didn't seem to hear him. She had started handing out everyone's gifts, setting her own to one side. She fumbled with a large black box. She checked the card then, with a smile, placed it in my pile along with a thin rectangle. Finally everyone had their presents.

I chanced a glance at Gaara. My gifts for him were at the bottom of his stack. My eyes moved back to my own gifts.

On top was a square from Emi. Half afraid of what it might be, I pulled the paper back and…squealed with glee. In side was a copy of Repo: The Genetic Opera sound track. Emi laughed. "If you like mine then you'll love what Kankuro got you." She pointed to the green and red box.

With more exuberance I opened the gift. I nearly passed out. Obviously Emi had helped him pick it out. There's no way Kankuro would have thought to get me a DVD of Daybreakers on his own.

I sat the first two, very thoughtful, gifts aside and reached for a small bright green box. I slid the lid off and laughed under my breath.

"Great minds think alike." Temari joked holding up the fan earrings I had gotten her. I put the turtle threads in my ears and sat the box aside.

As I reached for the thin gift on top, Gaara froze. In his hand was the CD I'd mad. He read down the list on the back, his face lightly colored. I looked back down at the oddly blue box in my hands. I slid the lid off carefully. A black envelope sat on top of a blank piece of paper.

I opened the envelope.

Miya--

I couldn't think of a gift that you would love more. I know it won't make up for all that he put you through, but it's a start.

Merry Christmas

--Gaara

PS: flip the paper over.

I grabbed the piece of paper and turned it over. For some odd reason, I felt like laughing and crying. It was the most thoughtful gift I'd _ever _received.

Gaara had given me Sasuke's death certificate…for Christmas.

"Huni?" Emi interrupted my amazed thoughts. "You still have a gift to open." She placed the large box in my lap and returned the certificate to its box.

I examined the new box. On top was a red card with black writing. In calligraphy was "Merry Christmas, from Sandy Clause." I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I refrained from looking at Gaara.

I removed the lid and looked inside, there sat a giant panda. It filled the box. I pulled the fluffy thing out and straightened out its appendages. I hugged it tightly and thought up a name.

"Kiln" I proclaimed to the stuffed animal. The others turned, giving me the strangest looks. I hid behind the bear and peaked around its side. Emi laughed as the others shook their heads sadly.

Later that night Temari left to go see Shikamaru in Konoha, Gaara was…somewhere, and Emi and Kankuro were trying out their gifts from each other. I curled up on the couch to watch Daybreakers. (There was no way I was going to go back upstairs. Just way too creepy!)

I had Kiln in my lap and was singing along with on of the background songs when Gaara walked downstairs. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked mentally scared. "Kankuro and Emi?" I questioned. He nodded weakly.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching Daybreakers. If you wonna watch it, I could always restart the movie." He shook his head no.

"I think I'll just take some painkillers and go lay down." He had disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to get a glass of water for his meds, so I went back to watching the movie.

By the end of the movie, Gaara still hadn't come back from the kitchen. I got up holding Kiln and started for the kitchen. I was staring at my feet so I didn't notice him in the door way. "Ouch." I said flatly as my ass hit the floor. Gaara chuckled and helped me up.

"You're like a little kid." He laughed. Feeling immature I stuck out my tongue out which only made him laugh harder.

**Gaara's POV:**

I started laughing and for once it wasn't because of a psychotic fit. Miyako stuck her tongue out then started looking around for her bear. When she found it she held it close to her chest. "You have a nice laugh." she said quietly.

"'_Aww she's blushing.'"_ Shukaku mocked.

"Hey, Sandy Clause?" Miyako said, pulling me away from Shukaku's thoughts. I looked down at the tiny person in front of me. She blushed and pointed up. I glanced up. Directly above my head was a strand of mistletoe that Temari had set up. My face reddened, I looked back down. "Merry Christmas." She pressed her lips lightly to mine.

It lasted just a moment then we wrenched away in shock. In that second, even though it was brief, I had heard nothing. Mentally that is, Shukaku- who had been in mid-babble when Miyako had kissed me- cut off suddenly then picked back up like nothing had happened. From the look on Miyako's face I'm guessing that the same thing had happened to her and Tanya. (Miya had mentioned that Tanya was awake during dinner.)

"What the fu-" she started to say. I crushed my lips to hers, wanting to test this new phenomenon.

"_Shukaku."_ I called. I sighed in relief when no response was given. It was like someone had turned the volume down on a stereo.

I softly wrapped my arms around her waist and relaxed into the kiss. Miyako's arms looped around my neck.

She broke away abruptly and pouted. "I'm going to throw you in the dryer."

"Uh why?"

"You're too tall." I chuckled but then frowned. The noise was back.

"'_Don't you dare refer to me as 'the noise'!'"_

Miyako pulled her hands back. "Stop frowning." She tried to manually make me smile. I leaned down to rest my forehead on hers.

"It was quiet." I stated simply. She nodded in understanding.

"It was, wasn't it?" She buried her face in my neck.

**Miyako's POV:**

I nuzzled against Gaara's neck thinking about our little discovery. Suddenly, quietly, he moaned. I scarcely heard him. I pulled back some to look at him. His eyes were closed, his face lightly pink. _"So cute."_ I thought.

"What?" His eyes popped open to stare at me.

"Opps! Guess I said that out loud." I laughed in embarrassment. We stayed like that for a moment, just watching each other and thinking.

Unexpectedly Gaara picked me (and Kiln!) up and placed me (and Kiln!) on the couch.

I sat up and was going to ask him what he was doing when he took control of my mouth. He forced me back down. His tongue slid across my lower lip, begging for entrance which I of course gave. We had a battle of tongues which he won, mostly because his hand wandered up my thigh.

"FINALLY!" Kankuro and Emi yelled from the stairwell. We straightened up and glared at them. "Temari owes us ten bucks." They did a happy dance and grinned at our lethal looks.

* * *

**Well I did it, I updated. Yay me! :)**** I actually have finished the story on paper so I'll finish updating ASAP. It would help if I could get more reviews. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me this long. I don't mean to be obnoxious but I'd say this is pretty good for a first fic. The next chapter is Gaara's birthday and the lemon. ;) For you more innocent people you can just read till a certain point then tell yourself that they had a tea party. I wrote a lot of this story during my art class (which I love because the teachers is crazy in a funny way and I sit next to one of my crushes- and no Krystal he does not look like Harry Potter when he wears glasses) You can probably guess how I got the bears name… (At least I didn't name it porn like I named my bear from Fallenone667) The book that Miyako gave Gaara was a reference to Fallenone667. She gave me the exact same book for Christmas plus she mentions it in her totally amazing story. If you guys haven't read it you need to. It's called "More than a high school crush." and it's a Gaara fic so Yay! PLEASE REVIEW MORE! Until next chappy goodbye :) *heartz***


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey ya'll! So this is the lemon chappy and it's my first one at that so please comment and let me know how I can improve it. For you innocent ones out there you can pretend they are having a tea party or something. Everyone else please enjoy the lemoniness. Oh and if you wish to know what songs were on the mixed CD (last chapter) just PM me.**

**Miyako's POV:**

I hung a black and chain bond leg out of the window. All day the sound of metal clinking had filled the air, though whether I was me or Gaara was anyone's guess. He had decided that because it was his birthday he could (and would) wear whatever he pleased. **[This will be a brief interruption for fallenone667's enjoyment: Gaara's pants were in a pie. Sorry now back to the chappy]** And what he pleased just so happened to be black Tripp pants with chains galore. We earned a few looks to say the least. But today was the sixteenth of January and no one was about to mention how unprofessional we looked.

I stood and straightened my clothes (never knew how tight skinny jeans are!) and joined Gaara at his desk. I laced my arms around his shoulders as a sort of apology for what he was going to have to endure at home. Emi and Kankuro had planned a surprise party and even invited some of the fan girls and our leaf friends.

I whispered happy birthday for the millionth time as he relaxed into my arms. I pressed my face into his hair, enjoying the scent of fruit loops and wishing it could be just us tonight.

On the way home I pulled him over to the small park. I was in charge of keeping him distracted until it was time for his surprise party. The snow covered park seemed like the best way.

Gaara wiped snow off of a swing seat then sat, pulling me with him. He sighed into my collar bone. "Do we have to go home?" Not taking his medicine for so long had made him chattier, not that I was complaining. I petted his hair for a few moments.

"Yes, we do. If we don't… Well do you really want to deal with a jaded Emi?" I shuddered involuntarily. He shook his head.

We sat in silence until my phone went off.

"Bring 'er home, captain!" Emi's voice screamed from the speaker. I snapped the phone shut and pulled us to our feet.

**Gaara's POV:**

Do you ever just really want to kill someone? Well Kankuro is dead! Or will be, that is. (I can't kill Emi. Miyako won't let me and when I asked her why not she told me I was cute when I pout. What the fuck?)

They had invited my 'fan club'. I had those pathetic people- it wasn't just girls!- trying to crawl all over me. Miyako spent a lot of time hovering protectively over me.

I let them sing 'happy birthday' to me before I slipped out of the room. I plopped down on my bed, annoyance rolling off of me. Naruto hadn't stopped glaring at Miyako and me. He was pissed at us but had bothered to show up anyway.

Down stairs I could hear the sound of vehicles pulling away from the house. "Guess they figured out I wanted to be alone."

**Miyako's POV:**

Damn dirty skanks! They ran my Gaa-bear off! I grabbed the presents he hadn't bothered to get and stalked up the stairs.

Gaara was in the middle of the bed on his back. His arm shifted from over his eyes as I entered. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You forgot you gifts." I sat down on top of his thighs and placed the gifts on his stomach.

"I don't want them." He grabbed a blue bow off of a small square box and pressed it on my collar bone. "You're my present." I laughed and sat all of the presents onto the floor except for the one. "Its kinda funny, which one you chose."

"Why is that funny?" I held up the box.

"This is my gift to you." Inside was a black leather bracelet with a small metal, realistic, heart. Across the top, in scarlet calligraphy, was an inscription. I leaned down and spoke the words against his lips. "I'll love you forever and for always my dear Sandy Clause." He moved forward slightly and melted out lips together. His tongue slid over my bottom lip, begging me to let him in. I fought it as long as I could. (It's just too much fun teasing him!) He growled softly in frustration.

Gaara's hand moved slowly lower down my body until it reached my butt. He squeezed, not hard but enough that I gasped. He took control of my mouth, exploring everywhere. His hand traveled back up and under my shirt. We broke so he could remove my graphic-tee.

Abruptly he stopped and moved me. He grabbed the nearly forgotten gift box and stood to place it on his desk. Before he returned to me he locked the door.

While he was doing this I, removed my jeans. I met him halfway back to the bed and claimed his mouth.

I broke the kiss. "I love you shirt." Confusion clouded his eye before I continued. "But I think it would be better on the floor." Gaara wasted no time tugging the shirt off. He pulled me back to him and his lips.

When oxygen deprivation interrupted I moved to his neck. I nipped and licked randomly before settling on his pulse point. He tried in vain to suppress his moans. I smirked over his neck while my hand wandered over his shoulders, then chest, and finally to his pants button. They fell with a slight clink.

I had to wrap my arms and legs around him as he moved us to the bed. He placed me in the center and crawled up beside me. For a nervous minute we just laid there, him caressing from my shoulder to my hip and me marveling over his muscular abdomen. That was the farthest we'd ever gotten, something had always stopped us.

I rolled on top of him, intent on breaking the cycle. We wrestled tongues, with me coming out victorious. While I explored his mouth, his fingers discovered the clasp on my bra.

He threw the item across the room and returned his hands to my chest. He manipulated the experimentally, I moaned into the kiss. His response was instantaneous.

He flipped us over, pulling my arms above my head. His attention- and mouth- returned to my breasts. He massaged each bud in turn, earning several moans. The way our bodies were contorted enabled me to 'feel' his response. He released my arms but continued to bite and kiss down my stomach. He reached the top of my underwear and started back up. His hands carefully removed the thin fabric then his own boxers. His mouth leveled off with mine.

He hovered cautiously over me. We locked eyes. My arms, which were around his lower back, slowly tugged him down.

I bit into his shoulder as a sharp pain erupted through out my lower half. We stayed still for a moment as I adjusted. Gaara kissed away tears I hadn't noticed.

I pain subsided and I nodded for him to continue. He seized my lips while his hips started a slow steady pace. All traces of pain soon disappeared, replaced by an increasing heat.

Suddenly I had to suppress a scream. It came out as a strangled groan. Gaara looked down at me in surprise. An unfamiliar look crept into his eyes. He hit the same spot, causing the urge to scream again. He captured my lips and repeated his actions. His tempo picked up. I moved my hips to meet his.

He groaned my name deeply as he reached his peak. The feeling of him flowing within me sent me reeling until I was nothing more than a withering mass beneath him.

We tried to regain our breath, aftershocks still coursing through us.

Gaara kissed me softly, sweetly, and then got to his feet. I shuddered at the sudden cold. He grabbed the twisted comforter from the foot of the bed and draped it over me. I yawned violently as I watched him get the bracelet from his desk and put it on.

He curled up under the cover with me. One of his hands rested lazily over my abdomen, the other clutching at my shoulder. He pressed his lips to my hair and blissfully whispered I love you as I fell asleep.

**Gaara's POV:**

I watched the beautiful girl beside me sleep, unable to believe that she was mine. I laughed to myself. I was going to have to thank Kankuro and Emi for throwing a party that we could escape from. Best birthday ever.

**So I was listening to rave music as I typed this so…yeah let me know if anything isn't understandable.**


	12. Chapter 12

**No POV:**

The blonde strolled through the empty house lazily, cleaning here and there.

Emi had forced Kankuro to follow her to the park for a private conversation. Her used pregnancy test was in a wastebasket upstairs.

Miyako and Gaara had left hours ago, leaving Temari to think. But thinking was a dangerous thing for her. Periodically she pulled her locket out to gaze at the small photo of a half asleep man.

Temari sighed into the silence. She was all alone. Again. Shikamaru would be out on a mission and out of her reach all week.

"At least his mission will bring him through Suna." she said to the emptiness.

To distract herself she vacuumed the living room and the stairs. Then she moved to the bed room farthest down the hall: Gaara's room. Temari smiled to herself and shook her head unable to believe that her cynical brother had found love almost three years ago. She opened the door and started at the surprisingly clean room.

Last time she'd been in there the floor had been invisible, covered up by clothes- Gaara's and Miyako's. Now no clothes could be seen, the bed was made, and the shelves were bare. _"What the hell?!"_ she thought. The computer monitor was blinking.

Temari-

Sorry to have to tell you this way. I have to hurry though, their only holding our spot 'till ten. Gaara and I have decided to say aeternum vale to out single lives.

Well I hear the golden bells ringing so I have to go. Tell Emi congratulations. There are some pre-made dinners in the freezer.

See you in a few weeks

-Love Miyako and Gaara

**Whoa I finished it. YAY! *Throws stuff in the air in victory* Oh by the way 'aeternum vale' is Latin for 'farewell forever' and the golden bells are a reference to Poe's poem ****the bells**** in which the golden bells are wedding bells. Well review and let me know how much it sucked and how your glad it's over. Until next time, this is ilovegerardway4ever signing off.**


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